Aidan Read Online Free PDF Page A

like thet, lassie?”
    “Because . . . ye scared them away. And I ken I’m safe now thet I’m with ye.”
    He seemed to like that answer, as the corners of his mouth turned upward into a smile of satisfaction. She knew that Highlanders thought highly of themselves, and a few compliments would get her far.
    “Me name is Aidan. Aidan MacKeefe,” he said. His tawny brown eyes studied her, and she saw a kindness within them. His blond hair hung down to his shoulders, lifting in the slight summer breeze, making him look like some sort of pagan god. Stubble shadowed his face in a slight mustache and beard, adding to the ruggedness of his composure. He wore a white leine, long tunic down to his knees, with the lacings untied, showing his sturdy chest. He had a plaid wrapped around him and thrown over one shoulder. He seemed to have large muscles, and looked to be very strong. She liked that. She hadn’t been so close to a handsome man . . . ever.
    “Are ye a Highlander?” she asked, surveying his wild, rugged looks. She was from the Lowlands, and knew that Highlanders were said to be barbaric and mad.
    “I am,” he said, and before she could say anything more, a squirrel dropped from the tree above and landed on the man’s shoulder. She screamed and jumped back, but he didn’t even flinch. He reached out for the animal, and it scurried from one of his arms to the other before settling on his back, peering over the top with wide eyes.
    “There’s – a squirrel on yer back,” she said, just in case he hadn’t noticed.
    “I ken,” he said, his eyes never leaving her for a moment. “Thet’s me pet, Reid.”
    Now she knew he was one of those crazy Highlanders she’d heard about. This point proved it. “How nice,” she said and forced a smile.
    “So are ye goin’ te tell me yer name, me bonnie cailin?”
    “I’m Effie,” she said, finding herself getting lost within the swirling depths of his eyes. His perusal of her drew her in, making her feel excited. He was not only ruggedly handsome, but he was also looking at her as if her presence excited him as well. She’d never felt anything like this in her life.
    Tasgall stepped through the trees making his presence known just then, and ruining her magical moment. “She is Effie MacDuff and she is here with me,” he said, and shot her a sickening smirk.
    “Ye are a MacDuff?” Aidan asked, surprised.
    “Aye, I am Effie MacDuff,” she admitted, and smiled, hoping to hell the MacKeefes and the MacDuffs weren’t in the midst of some kind of feud.
    “And who may ye be?” he asked, surveying Tasgall from head to toe.
    “I’m Tasgall. I am a gypsy,” he said. “Effie and I are the last ones left o’ our little family, as the English have attacked and killed off the rest jest the other day.”
    “A gyps y?” He looked confused. “But I thought the lassie was a MacDuff.” His hand went to the hilt of his sword, and Effie knew he didn’t trust them.
    “It’s true,” she said, stepping in between them. “Me mathair was once a MacDuff but broke away from the clan. I was raised as a gypsy, a traveler, jest wandering the land.”
    “I dinna understand ,” he said, still eyeing up Tasgall cautiously. Effie knew she would never get any information out of any Scot if Tasgall decided to tag along. He had a face that could not be trusted, and his gaze was shifty. And he wore raggedy clothes. No one trusted a gypsy in the first place, and it was going to be hard enough to gather information now that the Highlander knew she was a gypsy as well. The idiot, Tasgall, may have very well just ruined her chance to save her sister.
    “Me throat is parched,” she said , clearing her throat. “Aidan MacKeefe, would ye mind takin’ me somewhere so I can get somethin’ te drink?”
    “I kennawhat ye like te drink, but Callum MacKeefe is the owner o’ the Horn and Hoof pub and he brews a mean mountain magic,” Aidan told her.
    She had no idea what he was talking